


Flame Within

by RoseGoldWonnie



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: And they cuddle a lot, Everyone Is Gay, Everyone swears a lot, Fantasy, Fluff, He wears suits a lot, Hyungwon and Minhyuk are best friends, M/M, Magic, Minhyuk is sassy, My First Fanfic, Romance, Vampires, Werewolves, Witches, Wonho is classy, a lot of cuddles, because suits are sexy, british accents, changkyun is adorable, hyungwon is reckless, hyunwoo is too pure for this world, jooheon is a panicked gay, kihyun is kinda scary, minhyuk is a confident gay, slowburn, they're all friendship goals, this is happening in England fyi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-25
Updated: 2018-05-27
Packaged: 2019-04-08 02:44:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14095380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoseGoldWonnie/pseuds/RoseGoldWonnie
Summary: Chae Hyungwon was an average 19 year old boy. Except the fact that he was a witch, had terrifying nightmares almost every night and almost got killed in a park. His life was saved by a man that would change his life forever, a man that was his destiny. This is a story about forbidden love, magical creatures and annoying friends.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Enjoy reading! <3

The air smelled like a mixture of mud and rain. The earthy scent filled out the entire forest, and Hyungwon felt himself relax with each deep breath he took. looking above, he smiled at the way the sun shone through dark grey clouds, the rays of light falling atop of the many iris flowers growing from the ground in thick bunches. The lake looked beautiful as ever, the body of water colored in dark blue. The tall boy let his long legs carry him underneath a robust willow tree, its branches dipping into the lake in a breathtaking manner.

The whole scenery looked ethereal, and Hyungwon wondered how lucky he was to be the one to have found this little paradise. He discovered this rather small lake when he was just a child, curiosity making him forget about the many warnings his mother had told him. "Don't venture too deep into the forest, little one. For it is easy to get lost in." He ignored that warning and as a small child, he happily ran into the dark forest, worries nonexistent. It took him about thirty minutes of innocent giggles to realize that he did, indeed, get lost.

The concept of not knowing the way out of a forest just as it was about to get dark terrified him to no end. Any small child would feel scared. Worries washed over young Hyungwon immediately as tears started stinging behind his eyelids, his breath picking up. In the panic to find his way out of the forest, he found this place. When he had lain his eyes upon the beautiful lake surrounded by dark green trees, he instantly felt calm. The tension left his body as he let his eyes wander the scenery. When he noticed the willow tree, he walked over to it with a stunned expression on his young face.

The net of thin willow branches above his head, dipping into the water made him feel emotions he didn't understand. 

His parents were so angry at him for not following their rules. They had found him asleep underneath that very tree, and they forbade him to play in the forest until he started middle school.

From then on, he knew that the lake would become his safe place. He went there every time his emotions got too overwhelming. This time was no different.

Standing underneath the willow tree, he took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. After recent events, he needed a way to calm down. Recent events being his mother finding out his sexual orientation. She didn't kick him out, nor did she throw insults at him. She was just shocked, and he had not been in the mood for 'the talk'. So he did what he always does in order to avoid confrontations. He ran. In his mind, he cursed his best friend for accidentally outing him. I'm going to fucking poison you next time i see you, Lee Minhyuk.

To be completely honest, it hadn't been the elder's fault entirely.  
They were best friends since birth, basically. So it came as no surprise that Minhyuk had a spare key to his house. Minhyuk was very obnoxious, so it also didn't surprise Hyungwon that he would barge into his house without any previous notice, screaming "HEY, GUESS WHO FOUND YOU A CUTE DICK TO SUCK! NOW YOU OWE ME."

Hyungwon forgot to tell Minhyuk that his mother came back early from her holiday. Needless to say, Minhyuk was very surprised when he saw his best friend running down the stairs with a constipated expression on his face. He was even more surprised when the black haired man wordlessly grabbed his denim jacket and stormed out the door. That was when he saw a very affronted looking Mrs Chae, walking down the stairs slowly. Good one Minhyuk, You really know how to make people want to kill you.

Hyungwon knew that his mother would not have a negative reaction to him being gay, but the boy would always prefer to post pone any type of confrontation.

He was distressed, anxious about having to come clean to his mother. Was it irrational? Yes. But that's just who he was. Although he knew that his parents would love him no matter what, he still felt the fear of rejection. He needed to calm down, and this place had always helped with that.

Well, now that you chilled out you better stop being a pussy and face your fucking mother, Chae Hyungwon.

The boy sighed when he pulled out his neglected phone from his back pocket, seeing the 10 missed calls from Minhyuk and two from his mother. He couldn't help but smile when reading the desperate messages his best friend had texted him.

Minnie: I'm so sorry turtle, i didn't know she was there!

Minnie: Forgive me, please?

Minnie: Hyungwon i love you but for the love of God, if you don't answer your phone in five minutes i will send everyone i know and their mother that one picture from fifth grade, you know which one.

Minnie: Call me back when you read this, okay? Please stay safe, turtle.

Minnie: Also, the cute dick has a gf TT

Minnie: I'm really sorry.

Minhyuk picked up on the second ring. "Wonnie! Where are you babe? I'm so sorry..." The elder sounded genuinely distressed, and Hyungwon felt his heart clench. Making Minhyuk worried hadn't been his intention. And he sure as hell didn't want him to blame himself either. "Hey, Min. I'm by the lake, don't worry. You don't have to be sorry, sugarplum. It was about time she found out anyway." The black haired boy let the corners of his lips twitch into a slight smile at hearing his best friend's relieved sigh. "Are you sure you're not angry at me, boo? Don't worry though, your mom is going to accept you. And if she doesn't, then i'll go kick her ass, okay?" He chuckled. How very Minhyuk- like. "You will not, under any circumstances, kick my mother's ass, understood? I'm going to come back home and have the 'i like dick like other boys like boobs' talk with her. Wish me luck, chocolate flake."

"Sure thing, honey bear. If you need me, i'll be here." Yeah, weird nicknames were kinda their thing. After a few more encouraging words from the elder boy, he hung up. Making his way back home, he felt his body get more and more tense the closer he got to his doorstep. Stop being so nerovus, it's your mother, idiot.

Mentally preparing himself for what was about to unveil, he pulled out his keys and opened the door. Thankfully, his mother hadn't been the first thing he saw after making his entrance. Instead, a fluffy ball of black fur ran to greet him, meowing in the process. Hyungwon smiled and picked the tiny creature up gently. The kitten rubbed its head against the boy's chin, making his smile widen even more.

"How have you been, Hades?" He whispered practically into the cat's fur, nuzzling his nose against the soft, fluffy ears. And yes, he had a cat named Hades. The name was fitting for the black kitten. Hades was a she, but that didn't matter. Not to Hyungwon, at least.

Interrupting his train of thought and soft coos at his kitten, came the calm voice of his mother.  
"You didn't have to run away. Minhyuk was worried. I was worried, Hyungwon." She always spoke gently to him, never raising her voice. She was noticeably shorter than Hyungwon, but they shared most of their features. The lips were the most obvious sign saying they're related.

The boy in question sighed heavily. He was still nervous, but his mother and him were close. He knew that she'd understand. "I'm sorry, mom. I didn't want to make you upset." He said, looking down at the ground, not feeling brave enough to gaze into his mother's eyes.

His sentence was only met with silence. Confused and slightly anxious, he went to lift his head but was quickly enveloped into his mother's thin arms, the woman chuckling slightly. Hyungwon was perplexed.

"You really thought that we didn't know, did you." Her tone was slightly humorous, and the black haired boy was too shocked to do anything except hug his mom back.  
"You know Hyungwon, there is no way that you could hide such a big secret from us. We always knew, and we don't love you any less. Your father and i, we couldn't care less about your sexuality, honey." She kept rubbing soothing circles into his back, her words as gentle as her smile.

Hyungwon felt a heavy weight lift itself off of his chest, tears of relief burning behind his eyes and threatening to spill. "Thank you. I love you so much" He managed to let out in a soft voice, tone more high pitched than usual. She pulled back from the embrace, reaching up to gently caress her son's cheek. "Be true in love, this you must do, unless your love is false to you "She whispered before kissing his forehead. Without another word, the black haired woman turned around and started walking up the stairs, to where the master bedroom was located. His mom always liked making a dramatic exit.

Hyungwon was still a bit perplexed, chest swelling with the love he held for his mother. Since his father was rarely home, it was his mother that had always kissed the pain away, the one who helped him with his homework, the one who taught him how to ride a bike. He felt a little ashamed about ever doubting his mother. He knew how loving and self less she was. But his anxiety sometimes caused him to overlook the bigger picture.

He walked into his room and pulled out his phone, dialing Minhyuk while jumping onto his bed, fluffy pillows flying around due to the impact of Hyungwon's body coliding with the covers. Much like the boy had expected, Minhyuk picked up on the third ring, screeching enthusiastically before Hyungwon could mutter a word.

"How'd it go, bae? If you need a place to crash, hit me up. But knowing your mother, she probably only sassed you and then you hugged for about two hours. Am i correct?" The red haired boy on the other end of the line giggled, but it was quieter than his usual obnoxiously loud laughter. Minhyuk doesn't do quiet giggles. He does loud guffaws that could make the ground shake, and when something is especially hilarious, he does 'the dolphin'. But now, there was cautiousness in his voice.

As if he was worried that if he were to speak too loudly, Hyungwon would burst into tears.This was one of the many reasons why Minhyuk was Hyungwon's best friend. Minyhuk spoke in a more wary manner because he knew that something not so pleasant might have happened to him. But he knew how much Hyungwon despised being treated like something fragile. He knew it, so he didn't let his concern show. And he didn't have to. Becasue Hyungwon knew, he felt it. They knew each other better than they knew themselves, that's what 19 years of friendship does to you.

Sheepishly, The black haired boy smiled to himself and nodded, before realizing that Minhyuk couldn't see. Pushing away the urge to face-palm, he stammered out an answer. "Yeah, you're right. But don't boast too much, and do not say i told you so. By the way, i'm fine with our nicknames, apple pie. But call me bae one more time and this time, i will actually poison you."

And hysterical Minhyuk came back, letting out what sounded halfway like a relieved sigh and a breathless laugh. "Get on with the times, my dear Wonnie. I won't tell you i told you so, I'm not an ass, dude. But seriously, you had me freaked out today. Don't you dare disappear without telling anyone where you're going ever again, alright?" Hyungwon guesses that the blonde meant to sound threatening, but in reality, he sounded like an overprotective puppy. Which he kind of was, truth be told.

"Awight. Wonnie is sowwie, Minnie." He put on his best pout and spoke in a childish way, his voice two octaves higher in hopes to sound as cute as possible. On the other line, Minhyuk guffawed and chuckled in what could be only described as disbelief. " You fucking maniac. That sounds horrifying. You're giving me the creeps, oh my God, i hate you, Chae Hyungwon."

Ignoring the snickers coming from Hyungwon's end of the line, Minhyuk calmed himself from his little outburst and spoke again, this time more seriously. "Did your mom tell you about the meeting? I talked to Changkyun already, and his folks filled him in. But i suppose that with all that drama you just HAD to create, i guess she didn't really think of it. My dad told me that, apparently, it's going to be a big deal, so none of us can be absent. Oh quit your whining, i hate the meetings as much as you do..... But... i don't know, Won. He sounded so absent-minded. You know, as the leader, he's always so composed.. but when he was telling me about it, he sounded almost scared. I'm very nervous, Won."

The red haired boy's voice was getting quieter and quieter the more he spoke, and something in Hyungwon stirred, an unpleasant feeling settling in his stomach. The leader sounded scared? This has to be serious, he thought. Well, more time to think about that later. Right now, Minhyuk was his priority. "Hey, Min. Whatever it is, it may not be that serious. Maybe you just read your father wrong? You know how our parents are. You know how WE are, in fact. Don't think about it that much, okay? We're all in this together, remember?" He did his best to sound reassuring, although he felt weird about this himself.

Meetings almost never happened all of a sudden like this. They had always been planned months in advance, and the things discussed were always boring and ordinary. Hyungwon had a feeling that this time, he wouldn't be feeling as bored as usual.

"Thanks, my cherry jam. I still have a bad feeling, though. We'll have to see, i guess. I'm going to go to bed now, I had enough excitement for today. Goodnight, babe. Also... I fucking told you so you idiot."

..... That fucker hung up on me

Shaking his head fondly, The black haired boy let his phone slip out of his hand and onto the soft duvet. Following his routine, he brushed his teeth and took a quick shower, washing his hair too. Feeling too lazy to do his usual skincare routine, he skipped the face mask and just jumped right into his over-sized white t-shirt, climbing into bed right after turning off the lights. For some reason, after what Minhyuk had told him, he felt paranoia creeping into his chest like a spider crawling slowly to the center of its net, where a fly got caught. Feeling suffocated in the dark, he turned onto his left side, where he could see his bedside table.

On the white little piece of furniture, there were several candles. Most of them were plain white, he kept his scented ones inside a drawer. Looking at the candles with focus in his eyes, he snapped his fingers, the candlewicks catching on fire immediately,

Oh, yeah. Chae Hyungwon was a witch.

***********************************

Waking up has always been a thing he dreaded. When he was little, he used to lock his door in vain hopes of preventing his mom from coming in and waking him up. Yes, Hyungwon was born as a witch. But it wasn't only him, oh no. Basically all of Hyungwon's friends were witches, Minhyuk included. And their families too, of course. On the topic of families, this brings us back to the former point. Hyungwon fucking hates waking up. And the only reason why he's forced to get up early is this goddamned coven meeting. 

 

Coven? A gathering of witches who practice witchcraft as a group, basically. The coven Hyungwon was a part of was rather small, actually. Consisting of Hyungwon and his parents, Minhyuk with his parents and adopted brother Kihyun, and Changkuyn with his parents and baby sister. Only 11 people in total, which was quite unusual, seeing as covens usually hosted a way larger group of people, but it wasn't unheard of. The minimal number of members in a coven is three, after all.

The black-haired boy groaned out loud when his alarm clock awakened him from his deep slumber. Lazily, he reached for his phone, turning the annoying sound off. He was tempted to just close his eyes and fall asleep again, but he knew better. His mom was a force to not be reckoned with. In his head, he cursed Minhyuk's father for always setting the coven meetings at such ungodly hours. For Hyungwon, of course. Most people consider 12 AM a very reasonable hour, but not when it's the weekend and your name is Chae Hyungwon. 

Leisurely, he put on his over-sized black sweater with grey washed skinny jeans and proceeded to the bathroom. After having brushed his teeth, he decided that today isn't a contact lenses kind of day. It's more of a you should be fucking glad i'm even here and not judge me for my glasses kind of day. So he put them on, not even caring about the slight Harry Potter resemblance. How fitting, he thought. Although he believes that if he were to be in Hogwarts, he'd be sorted into Slytherin or maybe Ravenclaw, definitely not Gryffindor.

Interrupting him from his irrelevant thoughts was his phone, exploding with messages. Momentarily surprised at the amount of texts coming in at the speed of light, he unlocked his phone, chuckling at what he saw when he opened the messaging app.

Changkyun made another group chat, apparently. He ignored the spam of memes and only read the parts he deemed relevant.

Im Changkyun added you to #$$holes group chat

WitchySexy: you should hurry the fuck up,  
dad seems anxious

Channiekyun: Ayyyyy, nice nickname, min  
Are you and Ki ready?

H.Won: Hey hoes. just waiting for mom to call me down.

WitchySexy: oh hey my fave is here  
yeah we r

Channiekyun: you wound me, lee minhyuk (◕︿◕✿)

WitchySexy: Oh dont worry, you're my brother's fave

Channiekyun: I'll take that

H.won: of fucking course you will

WitchySexy: Hey Kyun, I think we should have an intervention with won about swearing.

KihyunTheDragonSlayer: who the fuck changed my nick?!

Channiekyun: oh hi hyung, wasn't me ╮(╯∀╰)╭

H.won: min you little shit i dont need an intervention

WitchySexy: Oh hello my dear brother  
sure you don't, sweetie.

KihyunTheDragonSlayer: Minhyuk you little shit change it back,  
or soon i'll be an only child

KihyunTheDragonSlayer: oh hey Channie

WitchySexy: y is everyone calling me a little shit? im offended

Channiekyun: Change his nickname back, minhyuk. its offensive (◣_◢)

H.Won: not to be racist but i'm so tired i could eat my cat

WitchySexy: how is that racist

Channiekyun: he just said it isn't! Jesus (¬▂¬)

KihyunTheDragonSlayer: Not to be homophobic or anything  
but i'm going to fucking kill you Minhyuk

WitchySexy: fine, fine! you ruin all the fun

WitchySexy changed KihyunTheDragonSlayer's nickname to KihyunTheFUCKINGPRUDEWHOCANTTAKEAFUCKINIGJOKE

Channiekyun changed KihyunTheFUCKINGPRUDEWHOCANTTAKEAFUCKINIGJOKE's nickname to KihyunnieHyung

KihyunnieHyung: you're my favorite, changkyun

KihyunnieHyung: btw i think we're ignoring the real question

KihyunnieHyung: y would you eat hades if you were tired, hyungwon?

WitchySexy: Changkyun you traitor!

H.Won: it's way too early for this  
i'll see you guys later

Pocketing his phone, Hyungwon shook his head with a smile on his face. They sure were a weird bunch, but he loved all of his friends dearly. Sometimes, he just wondered in awe about the odds. Their parents were the ones who created the coven, before any of them were even born. So the fact that all of them got along so well was still shocking, even though all of them knew each other since birth. Well, except for Kihyun, who was adopted by Minhyuk's family when he was seven.

It kind of felt a little bit like fate, Hyungwon thought. They were a family, brothers. He would give his life to save theirs int a matter of seconds, and he was sure that they would do the same for him. Just as he was getting really sentimental, he heard the sound of his mother calling him downstairs. He made his way down the staircase, being met by the sight of his parents, both dressed up already. When he met eyes with his dad, the older man started laughing loudly, and Hyungwon only blinked at him in confusion. The elder man just quickly hugged him while chuckling.

Still schocked, Hyungwon hugged him back. That's when his father finally spoke up. "You should have said something sooner, we knew since you were eight." When the realization hit him, the boy 's face flushed in embarrassment "Mooooom" he whined childishly, his mom looking at him with fake innocence. "What?"

****************************************

The car ride was unusually silent. He noticed that his parents tensed up a little as they got closer to Minhyuk's house. That's where all of the coven meetings were held. Traditionally, meetings were to be held outside in the nature, but times change. Hyungwon enjoyed vintage things, but he liked to enjoy them with his wifi, electronics and a bit more human rights.  
His parents luckily shared the same thought and didn't mind the modernization of things. They were the opposite of xenophobic.

"Dad? Did the Lee fam fill you in? Like, do you know what the meeting is about?" He asked hesitantly, not being able to hold down his curiosity any longer.

"Not really, son. But we know that it's probably something serious. Don't worry too much." Was his dad's dry reply, and Hyungwon wasn't satisfied. But he knew that his father wasn't lying. Well, he will find out soon enough.

H.Won: we're on our way

WitchySexy: late as usual

KihyunnieHyung: hurry tf up dude, we're all here already

ChannieKyun: am i the only one who's lowkey terrified џ(ºДºџ)

H.Won: the fuck r u texting 4 if ur in the same room

WitchySexy: because fuck you thats why

KihyunnieHyung: don't worry changkyunnie, we'll handle whatever it is together

ChannieKyun: thanks hyung ✿♥‿♥✿

H.Won: dawwwwww

H.Won: w8 y dont u call us hyungs? we're all older

ChannieKyun: once you act like it then i'll call you hyung and  
besides, this is the uk

KihyunnieHyung: buuuurrrrrnnnnn ᕕ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)ᕗ

WitchySexy: thast fucjing creepy, Ki

KihyunnieHyung: not as creepy as your typos ( ͡~ ͜ʖ ͡°)

H.Won: it is kinda creepy

KihyunnieHyung: fite me (ง ° ͜ ʖ °)ง

ChannieKyun: hyung... stop (≖︿≖✿)

KihyunnieHyung: okay

WitchySexy: jesus, i wonder who's your favorite

H.Won: we're here guys

Stepping out of the car, he felt the anxious feeling return, squeezing his chest. But he willed himself to push it away and walked alongside his parents, shivering slightly in the autumn breeze. Curse him for forgetting his jacket at home. Luckily, it only took them about two minutes to reach Minhyuk's house from where they had parked their car.

It was the red haired boy who opened the door. He greeted Hyungwon's parents quickly and smiled at said boy, but it seemed a bit forced. The taller boy immediately noticed the tense atmosphere. Everyone was already seated at the dinner table in the dining room, with Minhyuk's father being the only one standing up. After the parents exchanged their greetings and Changkyun made his baby sister Holly quiet down, Mr Lee began the meeting.

"I am very sorry for inviting all of you here on such a short notice. But the matter to be discussed is very..urgent." Hyungwon could now understand what Minhyuk meant when he said his father seemed to have lost his usual composure. The man's face looked calm, collected, even. But his voice was what had given him away. There was a slight, almost unnoticeable tremble to it. One could have missed it, but not them. They all had a heightened sense of empathy, Changkyun in particular was a master when it came to reading people's auras. Even Holly, his 5 year old sister seemed to have that trait as well.

"Do you all remember the coven from up north that came to visit us last sabbath?" All of them nodded, and the leader continued after a short pause, turning to face his wife "Dear, could you take Holly upstairs? Maybe you can show her the crystal collection you have" Mrs Lee nodded understandingly, taking the little girl into her arms and walking up the long wooden staircase.

"A few days ago, we received a report from the tribunal. The coven... apparently, Jiyong was taking way too long to give in his report, so the tribunal came to conduct a check up. They said... they said that everything was destroyed. We're not exactly sure what happened, but we know that Jiyong's clan was attacked.... And they didn't make it. None of them did."

The atmosphere in the room was unbearable. Everyone was shell shocked, and Hyungwon was pretty sure he could see tears welling up in Changkyun's eyes, which broke his heart. He wanted to do something, anything in order to comfort the youngest. But before he could even think of a way to do so, he saw Kihyun who was sitting next to him reach for Changkyun's hand underneath the table. Changkyun seemed to calm down, squeezing back hard.

"Nobody... survived? But Hyorin... she was..." Changkyun's mother couldn't even finish speaking, choking up in the middle of the sentence.

"Yes, Hyorin was pregnant. There was nothing to be done, when they had arrived at the scene... it was too late. The mourning ceremony will be held on the next full moon. The bodies have already been buried." Minhyuk's father seemed very shaken up himself, and nobody could blame him.

Hyungwon remembers the northern coven. He remembers how happy Taeyang and Hyorin were to announce their marriage. The covens hadn't been that close, but they visited each other occasionally. Mrs Lim was very close to Hyorin, though. So it hadn't came as a surprise when the middle aged woman started sobbing loudly.

"This news his heartbreaking, and i know that all of you will need time to mourn. And this will be given to you, i promise. But there is one more matter that needs to be discussed. And by that i mean right now." When the leader saw Mrs Lim calm down, he continued.

"The tribunal believes that the attack was done by a group of hunters. Witch hunters. That's because the act was done with such precision, no average person could've won against a whole coven. In conclusion, the attackers were either hunters, or... vampires. But the bodies weren't drained of blood, so we believe it probably isn't the case. Also, it would have to be a very, very powerful group of vampires."

"What does this mean to us?" Hyungwon's father asked after a while of deafening silence

"It means that all of us should be extremely wary. You should be aware of your surroundings, and if you sense any negative energy, or perhaps feel like somebody is watching you.. you will need to report to me immediately. Basically, if anything suspicious happens, you will go to me first. The tribunal will try to conduct a locating spell, but since very little is known about the attackers, it might be in vain. Just.. all of you. Be careful."

Mr. Lee looked at his sons with worried eyes, and the red haired boy swallowed loudly. Out of all the things that could've been announced, this was what nobody expected.

After the coven meeting officially ended, Changkyun's and Hyungwon's parents left Minhyuk's house, since the boys had insisted on staying together. They walked into Minhyuk's room wordlessly, the boy in question shutting the door shut. Since Minhyuk's room was a bit bigger than Kihyun's, they always hung out there. Another reason was the fact that Kihyun's whole room was.... dark. If Hyungwon had to describe it, it basically looked like a sex cave, with a king sized bed in the middle, the walls colored a deep purple color and the furniture all black.

Minhyuk's room was basically the opposite of that. The furniture was painted a pretty shade of beige, house plants were basically everywhere, fairy lights hanging from the ceiling above his bed. In Hyungwon's opinion, the room didn't really match Minhyuk's personality that much, but it's not like your bedroom has to reflect who you are on the inside and out.

They all plopped down onto Minhyuk's bed, sitting in silence for a while. Even though none of them spoke up, the presence of one another was enough. After hearing out such news and knowing that they were possibly in danger, none of them wanted to be alone.

"You know, i won't let anything happen to any of you." Kihyun was the first one to break the silence, his voice calm and certain. "Same here." his step brother responded and although his voice wavered a little, his expression showed that he was serious and he reached out to hold the hands of the ones sitting on each side of him, Changkyun to his left and Hyungwon to his right.  
"I'm scared, i admit it, but i will rather let myself die than put any of you in danger."  
"You will do no such thing, Changkyun, because we're in this together. And you know, all of us are strong, we will put out one hell of a fight if it comes down to it." Hyungwon looked into the youngest's eyes sternly, chuckling softly towards the end of his sentence, trying to ease the boy's mind and reassure the others as well.

"You know what? You're really fucking right about that. I won't cower in fear. We need to do our best to become stronger in order for us to protect ourselves. And you don't have to be afraid, Kyunnie. I will protect you till the end of me." Changkyun blushed at Kihyun's words and reached out his other hand to hold Kihyun's. Meanwhile, Minhyuk and Hyungwon were exchanging meaningful eye contact, the corners of their lips raising simultaneously.

"Oh,fuck it." Hyungwon giggled and reached out for Kihyun's other hand, all of their interlocked hands creating a perfect circle.  
"I don't really want to ruin the mood but.. this is pretty fucking gay" Minhyuk chuckled and Hyungwon snorted loudly, Changkyun only smiling and Kihyun rolling his eyes.  
"Well, all of us are gay" The tallest boy let out in between giggles. "I'm bisexual, you insensitive asshole!" Kihyun screeched and let go of Hyungwon's hand roughly, the action only resulting in louder laughter. "I'm pretty sure i'm pan, you know" Changkyun tried his best to look insulted, sticking out his bottom lip as he fake-sulked.

"I know but what i mean is we all like dick, okay. Oh yeah, speaking of that.. thanks to someone," Hyungwon sharply turned his gaze to the red haired boy next to him, Minhyuk blinking at him innocently in response. The taller boy rolled his eyes and continued. "my parents know, but they're cool with it, so no sympathetic looks from any of you."

"That's great, now all of our parents know we like dick."  
"Language, son!" Minhyuk scolded the youngest, eyebrows furrowed in mock astonishment as he gasped. Changkyun only laughed and continued. "No but seriously, i'm happy for you, Hyungwonnie." The older boy's eyes softened and he leaped over to squish the youngest in a bone-crushing hug. "Thanks, Channie. At least someone is supportive."

"Oh shut your mouth, we all support you, idiot." Kihyun reluctantly leaned over and joined the embrace. "Great, are we trying to out-gay the hand holding thing?" Minhyuk scoffed.  
"You don't have to join us, bitch" Hyungwon answered, voice muffled by Changkyun's baby pink sweater. "Well now i do" He said, joining the group hug.

"You know what, Ki? For a draconic witch, you're quite the softie" Minhyuk told his brother mockingly.  
"You know what? For a green witch, it took you a long time to go vegan." he responded with the same fake venom in his voice

"Well now you're just asking to get hit, dude." Hyungwon chuckled, being the first one to pull away from the group hug.

"For an eclectic witch, you sure have courage."

"Hey! I'm not weak just because i'm eclectic!" Hyungwon looked at Kihyun with actual hurt in his eyes and the elder regretted his words right away. "I didn't mean it like that, Won. I know you're not weak... i'm sorry." Kihyun leaned in to hug Hyungwon again, the younger returning his embrace with a sigh. "It's okay, i get it."

 

This has been a sensitive topic for Hyungwon ever since he was little. Kihyun was born as a draconic witch. That basically means that he's connected to dragons. He can communicate with them through divination, and they can help guide him. Dragons are very strong spirits, having existed ever since the earth was created. Draconic witches are a little frowned upon by some other witches, since working with dragon deities requires you to embrace your darkness, while other types of witches tend to work more with their light sides.

Dragons are very powerful beings, and they show themselves in their physical form extremely rarely. They prefer to show their presence in different ways. Draconic witches have to embrace their darkness as well as their light, and working with dragons is extremely emotionally draining. Hyungwon remembers How closed off Kihyun was when the Lee family adopted him. He didn't talk, he didn't eat, unwilling to share anything about his past. He was found in a forest, shaking and alone. He was seven years old, and had a lot of bruises scattered randomly all over his skin. He refused to say anything about what happened to him.

When Mr. Lee taught him how to communicate with the dragon deities he had a connection witch, since he was a draconic witch himself, The boy had shown drastic improvement, but it had been hard on all of them. Kiyhun had to present himself to the deities in the form of a ritual.

The dragons always pick only the strongest witches to work with. They tear your mind apart, they show you the things you're most afraid of. They show you the most traumatic moments of your life and make you relive them. It feels like torture , but they need to know if you're strong enough for them to directly connect to you. The boys had to watch Kihyun sweat, sob and shiver during the ritual. He had been sitting in the middle of the living room, on the inside of a painted pentagram that was supposed to bring him luck and protection. Hyungwon can never forget the sight of the elder's veins turning pure black, his eyes being overcome by that same color. Shortly after that, Kihyun collapsed. 

A few minutes later, he opened his eyes that were now back to the golden brown color and he smiled at the worried face of Mrs Lee. "They accepted me" those were the first words they heard him say. Kihyun opened up after that. He told them about his painful past and became a part of their family, their coven.

His biologcal parents used to abuse him, trying to "beat the devil out of him". They had believed that dragons weren't deities but demons, and refused to believe that their son was born with the ability to communicate with them. That's why they never let him do the ritual to let the dragon deities connect to him directly.

Similar to that, Changkyun was also connected to spirits, but not ones of darkness. He was connected to spirits of light, nymphs and faeries and unlike Kihyun, he never needed to perform a ritual to see if the beings welcomed him. They chose him as soon as he was born, seeing the pure light in him.

Changkyun was a tender, gentle soul. When he was four years old, he ran to his parents, telling them about the tiny winged creatures that played with him in the backyard. Most parents would brush it off as a child's imagination, but the boy's parents only smiled at him enthusiastically, teaching him more about them. His mother in particular showed enthusiasm, since she was the same as her son.

The youngest was a sweetheart, making anyone want to baby him, so it came as no surprise that the creatures of light absolutely adored him. Opposite of dragons, the faeries and nymphs liked showing their physical forms, although only their chosen witches could see them.

Sometimes Hyungwon still laughs when he thinks about how unlikely of a pair Changkyun and Kihyun are, with the younger wearing pastel sweaters and flower crowns meanwhile the elder always swears and wears only dark colors. They aren't dating, but anyone can see the longing in their eyes, and how different they act towards each other. They all felt the urge to always protect the youngest, but Kihyun brings that to another level. Seriously, if Kihyun doesn't confess soon, Hyungwon and Minhyuk will have an intervention.

Minyhuk was a green witch, meaning he was connected to nature. He could make flowers bloom just by touching them, he could basically communicate with any kind of animal and apparently, if he trained hard enough, he could learn how to control the weather, according to Hyungwon's mother, who was a green witch herself.

There was the last type of witches, eclectic ones. They were considered the least powerful ones, because they weren't directly connected to anything and could only cast spells and hexes. An overwhelming majority of witches was eclectic, and that's why Hyugwon's coven is considered one of the most powerful ones in the UK, since they have two draconic, two green and two faery witches. Hyungwon sometimes felt inferior, when Kihyun complained about how dragons always spoke in riddles, or that one time Changkyun ran to them, giggling in delight, telling them about how the prettiest little fairy with golden wings just danced through the smoke of the incense he was burning, or that one time Minhyuk was like "Hades is so annoyed that you closed the door to your room last night, dude."

But he couldn't bring himself to envy his friends. He believed that envy was a very ugly emotion, so he tried his best to accept and love himself as he is.

"Can we order a pizza?" Changkyun spoke through the silence, making Hyungwon chuckle softly. "Sure we can, cupcake." Seems like the best way to comfort your friends consists of cuddles, aggressively believing in each other, being slightly offensive and food.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me again! I decided to post chapter 2 already. because why not :D I like this chapter a bit more than the first one and i hope that you'll have fun while reading it :3 in the beginning it's kind of a bit explicit? Low-key creepy but not too much horror. Just wanted to give you guys a heads up :3 Enjoy!

He was running. He didn't know what it is that he's running from, be he did know that if he didn't hurry, he'd end up dead. He quickened his pace and kept running through the dark forest. What is this place? Hyungwon didn't know, he didn't care. He just needed to escape from the thing that was chasing him. The sound of twigs snapping underneath his feet echoed through the otherwise quiet forest. It was pitch black now. High on adrenaline, he didn't even realize that the footsteps behind him kept slowing down, before they disappeared completely.

Exhausted, he couldn't run anymore. Taking a quick look around himself, he discovered that he came to a clearing. That anxious feeling was still present in his chest, but somehow, he felt protected. Through his heavy breathing, something in the distance caught his attention. It looked like a chest?

Wiping the sweat off of his forehead with his sleeve, momentarily cringing in disgust, he started walking towards the object.

When he came close enough, his breath got knocked out of his chest. It was indeed a chest, a very beautiful one, that is. He knew that opening the chest probably wasn't such a good idea, but he did it anyways. Dread filled him instantly. Inside, he could see bones, human bones, undoubtedly forming a whole skeleton and Hyungwon jumped back in shock, shutting the chest roughly.

But the chest opened again by itself, and Hyungwon could see tiny specks of golden glitter floating out of it slowly, the sight too magical for given circumstances.

Cautiously, he walked closer to it. Instead of the skeleton he expected to see, he found old rune stones, antique tarot cards and the most beautiful dagger he's ever seen, seemingly made out of silver. He carefully took it in his hands, turning the handle around to reveal the words "tenebris fata condiscipuli animo"...Latin? Underneath the tarot cards, he could see a very old book, it looked like a grimoir. Or was it a book of shadows? On the book's cover, there was a symbol Hyungwon had never seen before.

Just as he was about to reach for it, a pained cry pierced the air and Hyungwon shivered, dropping the knife in surprise. From behind him, he could hear guttural, pained moans and he froze, dread filling his body.

He turned around slowly, blood running cold at what he saw. It was a woman, crawling towards him slowly. She had long, brown hair, her whole body appearing to be distorted somehow. She stared at him with bloodshot eyes, dragging her dislocated legs behind herself as she got closer to Hyungwon.

Strangely enough, he didn't feel scared. As he looked at the woman, what he felt was deep sorrow, incredible sadness. The emotions enveloped him tightly, suffocating him. He felt like he couldn't breathe, choking up for real.

The woman was now directly in front of him, and his legs turned into jelly. He couldn't move, he couldn't breathe and his knees buckled, not being able to carry his weight any longer. So he collapsed to the ground, trying his best to move, to get up, run, do something, anything. But his attempts were all futile.

The woman leaned closer to Hyungwon and he could smell the stench of decaying meat coming from her skin and he shivered involuntarily.

She reached out her hands to cup both of Hyungwon's cheeks, leaning even closer to Hyungwon's ear, whispering in a hoarse, shaking voice "I habere fidem in te."

Still not being able to move, the boy felt his insides start to burn, to the point where he felt like they're starting to melt. He wanted to cry out in agony, but no sound left his lips.

"Hyungwon" ... What?

"HYUNGWON!" He sprung awake, finding himself covered in sweat, laying in his bed with Minhyuk crouched above him, eyes wide and hands still on Hyungwon's shoulders.

It felt so real, he couldn't stop shivering, looking up at the elder, bottom lip quivering ever so slightly. So Minhyuk launched himself at him, hugging the younger tightly, running his hands through Hyungwon's hair.

The boy in question clung onto Minhyuk desperately, trying to prove to himself that this was reality. When he felt that Hyungwon stopped shivering, the red haired boy pulled away carefully. "The same dream?" he asked quietly. Not finding his words, the younger nodded.

"How long has it been? A month?"

"Almost two." Hyungwon corrected Minhyuk.

"Don't you think that you should tell your parents? For all we know, this might be a hex."

"No, i have a protection sigil underneath my pillow. I put it there after the second time i had the dream. I can't tell them, Minhyuk. I don't want to worry them with something as meaningless as stupid nightmares." The black haired boy's voice was soft and his eyes still had a distraught look in them.

"Alright. Should i sleep here, sunshine?"

"......Please..."

"Then scoot over, my little crystal."

Hyungwon complied, making room for the other. Minhyuk slipped underneath the covers, the younger curling into his side, holding onto him for dear life.

"This dream... It must be terrible if you're this shaken up."

"I don't want to describe it again. I just..remember feeling the pain, i remember the screams, i remember....her as if it really happened a second ago" His shaky voice returned and the elder wrapped his arms around him protectively.

"But... There was something different. I can remember the words she told me, but it doesn't make any sense anyway. And.... this time, there was a... weird symbol on the book"

"Wait, you remember? Tell me, what did she say?" Minhyuk asked.

"I told you, it makes no sense. Something about soulmates and having faith in me, that i'm.... chosen or whatever. And the symbol... I'll draw it 'morrow..." He mumbled half asleep into the elder's pajama top.

"Hey, Min?"

"Hm?"

"You know, you can block your end of the bond. I don't want you to have to come over every time i'm having a nightmare." He whispered softly and if they weren't so close, the elder probably wouldn't have heard him.

"No. I will never block it, Won. What if you were in serious danger? Even if it's just a nightmare, i want to know so i can keep you safe."

"I have such a cheesy best friend. Do you think our parents know we did the blood binding spell?" He looked up at the elder quizzically, and the boy only shrugged in response.

"I don't think so. If they knew, we would've already been dead. We shouldn't even know the spell exists, Won. Doing blood magic is forbidden."

They were young when they did the spell. Hyungwon was 14 and Minhyuk was 16. After Hyungwon came back from school with bruises on his face, Minhyuk saw red. Apparently, some kids were bullying Hyungwon, because he was the son of the crazy lady with the herb and crystal shop.

After that day, Minhyuk swore to himself that he would find a way to always protect the younger, he wanted to always be able to save him if he was in danger. So he secretly sneaked into his father's library, where he had ancient spell books, grimoirs and books of shadows from their ancestors.

He had spent two hours just aimlessly flipping through random books until he found the spell.   
It was a spell that promised the linking of emotions through a special bond between two witches. But the thing is, the spell required blood magic. Since blood magic is forbidden, Hyungwon had been very reluctant to do the spell.

But with Minhyuk's power of persuasion, the next new moon at midnight, they were sliding knives down their palms and chanting Latin.

The spell had been very successful. At first, they had trouble controlling the bond. But after some time, they figured out how to block certain emotions from coming through. So they really only felt very strong, sudden emotions. Fear in particular was a very easily detectable emotion.

Fear.... "Hyukkie? Don't you sometimes feel like somebody is watching you? I'm so fucking paranoid these days.." Whining towards the end of his sentence, Hyungwon buried his face even deeper into the elder's chest. Considering how much taller he was, to fold himself into Minhyuk was really an achievement.

"I think we're all a bit paranoid, cauliflower. With all the stuff at the meeting, i don't blame you for feeling scared. "

Hyungwon wanted to argue that he wasn't scared but to be honest, he knew he was.

"You know what? Let's go shopping tomorrow! I'll buy you coffee....." At the mention of coffee, the younger's face brightened and he nodded enthusiastically.

"Great. Now let's go to sleep or i'll have to staple my eyelids open."

\------******~~~~~~-----

"Does my butt look okay?" Minhyuk asked cheekily, giggling as he turned around, wearing the tightest pair of white skinny jeans.

"You mean your non-existant pale ass?.... it looks good. But i was promised coffee, and so far all i've gotten was you, fishing for compliments." Hyungwon replied in mock annoyance.

"Excuse you! I only bought two shirts so far babe. But fineee, i'll buy these jeans and then we can go to Starbucks"

"Don't forget that you're buying" Was the younger's reply and Minhyuk only pulled the curtain to his cabin shut, ignoring Hyungwon.

After the red haired boy payed for everything, they exited the shop happily, walking side by side towards the nearest cafe which was not even Starbucks but hey, Hyungwon will take it, coffee is coffee.

After ordering their beverages, they sat down onto a cozy looking sofa which stood in front of a wall length window, so they could see the raindrops sliding down the glass. Hyungwon really loved autumn, it was probably his favorite season. Minhyuk himself loved both of the transitional periods, but spring would always be his favorite. He loved the way the white covers of snow would slowly start melting away, making room for flowers to start blooming, making their way up from underneath the ground.

"We should go camping before it gets too cold." Hyungwon said casually, crossing his legs. "Dude, it's autumn. Mud. Ew, no." the elder's upper lip rose in disgust, and The black haired boy stared at him in disbelief. "Lee Minhyuk? You do know that you are a green witch, correct?" Minhyuk only rolled his eyes with a smile on his face. "And so what? Should Kihyun start evoking the Dragon of war just because he's a draconic witch?"

"That's not the same thing. Like, at all."  
"Whatever."

"A caramel latte for Hyungwon and a double chocolate chip cappuccino for Minhyuk" Came the gruff voice of their barista. They both inwardly cringed as the rather young looking male butchered their names, but the elder rose to get their drinks and he made sure to thank the boy politely anyway.

"You know what's weird? How our parents just don't want to tell us how they ended up moving here." Minhyuk said after handing the younger his drink and sitting down.   
The elder thought for a while before answering, holding his drink with both hands.   
"I guess it must have been something serious if they've been keeping it a secret since we were little. Every time i asked mother about it she just stared into space and changed the topic, so after a while, i just stopped asking." 

It was silent for a while, before the elder's voice cut through the air again. "Yeah. I guess it's in the 'topics to never bring up in front of parents unless you want to see them looking constipated' drawer. Hey... didn't you say something about a symbol yesterday? In the dream?"

"Oh yeah.. I've never seen anything like it before. Hey, do you have a pen?" The elder nodded and pulled out one from his bag, handing it to Hyungwon, who grabbed it with a thanks. He then reached for the napkin he was given with his drink, and he started drawing, trying his best to recall the symbol in detail. When he was done, he turned the napkin and pushed it towards Minhyuk.

"I think... i've seen this before. Maybe? When i was going through dad's library. But it was the day he caught me going through the forbidden section and... you know what happened after.." Hyungwon gulped. He definitely remembered. Minhyuk's father was a kind man overall, but if anyone dared to cross him, he could become quite scary. He only beat Minhyuk once, and it was on that day. Minyhuk was 11 and went against his dad's order to not read the books in the forbidden section. so when the coven leader caught him, he was incredibly angry.

"Do you know what it means? To me, it looks like a sigil, but it could also be a weird rune or.. i don't even know."

"I think it is a symbol. You know how there are draconic runes, faery runes and stuff? Well, then there's the symbol for every type of witch as well. You know yours, the weird circle thingey. The draconic symbol is the triple goddess sign with wings in between, the faery symbol is the star with a circle in the middle and the earth witch symbol is the triquetra. Well, i think i saw what you drew besides these symbols, but i don't really remember anything else, since i didn't have the time to read more. The book was ancient, by the way. It was falling apart in my hands, and i couldn't even recognize the language." Hyungwon sighed. Taking a long sip of his drink, he smiled at the delicious taste of the calorie loaded beverage. Nothing could beat caramel.

He thought about what Minyhuk just told him. A symbol for a witch? That makes zero sense, since there are only 4 witch types in total. His mind must've been making stuff up, nothing more.

"Fuck it, it's not like my dreams are prophecies anyway. What the lady was saying seemed like crap too. Fate? Soulmates? Miss me with that bullshit." He scoffed, trying to convince himself more than anything. But he couldn't help the uneasy feeling that overcame him every single time he thought about the dream.

"Changkyun would disagree, you know. He still thinks you're a seer." Minhyuk crossed his legs as he took a sip of his capuccino, savoring the taste.

"Oh yeah. Because one of his faeries wanted to mess with him."

"Faeries can't lie, Hyungwon."

"They can't, but they're masters at altering the truth. I literally might have once predicted a tiny little thing and it would have been enough for one of those winged bastards to make up a story." Just as Hyungwon finished, Minhyuk's phone rang and the red haired boy rolled his eyes at the caller ID.

He answered the call reluctantly, mouthing 'Kihyun' to Hyungwon.

"What do you want, you pest."

Minhyuk's way of greeting his brother made Hyungwon chuckle.

"What? I'm on my way." Minhyuk's voice sounded a little anxious now, and the younger boy stiffened in anticipation. The elder hung up and grabbed his jacket, standing up immediately.

"I'm sorry, gotta run. Ki says that mom fainted again. Dad is worried she might have been hexed." Minhyuk's eyes had a panicked glint in them and Hyungwon shivered inwardly. A hex is a very complicated type of spell, and it's almost impossible to undo. But since Mrs Lee never had any enemies, the black haired boy found it highly unlikely to be the case.

"I'm sure it's not a hex. But you should run home and help take care of her."

"Yeah, i hope so. I'm sorry for leaving so suddenly. Should i give you a ride home first? it's getting a bit dark outside and we shouldn't be alone."

"No, I'm fine. I'll stop by the library first, there's a book i want to check out." That's Hyungwon's first lie of today, and he swallowed thickly.

"Okay, be safe. I'll see you tomorrow pumpkin."

"Say hi to your mom when she wakes up!" Hyungwon shouted and received a yelled "Will do!" in response.

There was no book he wanted to check out. He just didn't want to bother his friend when he already seemed so stressed out. Well, It's just you now, Hyungwon. He finished his drink quickly and left the cafe. 

 

\---------------------------------

Walking down the quiet street with slow steps, he sighed. It would probably take him about half an hour to get home. But he would manage. It wasn't that late yet, although there weren't many people on the streets. Actually, almost none. He pulled his headphones from his bag, plugging them in and he was just about to put them on, when he stopped abruptly. There it was, the dreadful feeling of eyes on his back.

It's been roughly two months since it started, same as the nightmares. But he knew that as soon as he would turn around, there would be nothing, so he ignored the nasty feeling and kept walking. After about ten minutes, the feeling stopped and Hyungwon sighed in relief. His steps got lighter and so did his mood.

It wasn't far now, he just had to walk through a park and he would be home. It was completely dark now, and the small park was deserted. There was nobody there and Hyungwon had to suppress the sudden urge to do magic. He had this weird fascination with making glitter float through air, something he had to copy after seeing it in his nightmares. He perfected the little spell, making the glitter glow. To him, it looked like millions of tiny fireflies and damn. He loved fireflies.

Interrupting his inner monologue about insects was the faintest sound of snapping wood. He pulled the earphones out and stopped walking, unsure if he had heard it right through the music blasting through his headphones. Ruelle was his latest obsession.

And just as he was about to brush it off as his mind playing tricks on him, he heard it again, this time clearer, closer. So he quickened his pace, wanting to get home as soon as possible.

He was about to start running but before he could get the chance to, he was pushed against a tall apple tree that stood proud next to a tiny pond. It happened so fast, he had no chance to properly react so he just froze, looking at the body in front of him in terror. Yup, I'm gonna die a virgin.

The person pinning his body to the tree was a man, a very pale looking man. He was taller than Hyungwon himself which was shocking in itself. He was definitely Asian, hair ebony and dark furrowed eyebrows making Hyungwon shiver.

"Caught you." Fuck. The guy's voice was deep, and he spoke without an accent.

"Who the fuck are you?" He spat out, trying to get away from the man only for him to grab Hyungwon's shoulders, grip so painful that Hyungwon hissed.

"Shen Min, and i suggest you to stop those feeble attempts of freeing yourself, it will only bring you harm." To accentuate his point the man pulled out a knife from his back pocket and brought it to the shorter boy's face, smiling sadistically as the boy whimpered.

"What do you want from me" he managed to let out, his voice basically inaudible, fear dripping from it like melting honey.

"What i want from you? Absolutely nothing. But it's not about what i want, it's about what they want. And they want you dead, Chae Hyungwon." the tall man answered in a sing song voice.

"Who are they?" Hyungwon tried to ignore the feeling of the knife sliding down the surface of his cheek, not actually fracturing the skin, only making Hyungwon's heart squeeze in panic.

"Very important people, Hyungwon. And when they decide that you should die, there's no avoiding it. It's a shame, really. You have such a pretty face......" The sadistic smile was back and Hyungwon willed himself not to start crying. You're a witch, for fuck's sake! Defend yourself somehow! His subconsciousness screamed at him. But he couldn't. He was a coward, fear paralyzing his body completely. He only closed his eyes and waited for it to be over.

"See? Now you get it. I can't wait to taste you, your scent is intoxicating." Hyungwon's eyes opened in shock and he gasped at the veins that popped up underneath the man's eyes, which were now colored a deep shade of red. A vampire.

Holy fucking shit, Hyungwon was about to get killed by a vampire,his first and last encounter with the species. A hand pushed his head to the side, exposing his neck to the taller man and now, he really felt like crying. "I'm going to enjoy this." he clenched his eyes shut in anticipation, wincing when he felt two sharp fangs piercing his skin open.

But just as soon as it began, it ended. The head was torn away from his neck and he opened his eyes again to look what happened.

It took Hyungwon a few seconds to fully grasp what was happening in front of him and even when his eyes fully focused, he still couldn't believe the scene.

There stood another man, noticeably shorter than Shen Min. His hair was platinum and he was wearing a black suit, and that was all that Huyngwon could see from where he stood. The most important thing, however, was the fact that the man had his entire fist buried in the other man's chest.

"I regret not killing you the first time i saw you, i should have taken out the trash a long time ago." The man spoke in a low voice, british accent very prominent. For some reason, his voice sounded familiar.

The platinum haired man tore his hand out of the man's chest, hands covered in blood, the thick liquid staining the expensive looking fabric of his suit. Immediately after, Hyungwon watched as the life left Shen Min's eyes, his corpse hitting the ground limply.

The man in a suit turned towards Hyungwon and the boy felt his insides turning when he saw the still beating heart in the other's hand. Said man looked at the organ in his palm in disgust, throwing it away somewhere and pulling out a handkerchief from his breast pocket, cleaning his hand.

"I'm sorry i was late, darling, it's unfortunate you had to meet such an... abomination. It's safe now, you needn't worry." He spoke clearly and gently, as if cooing at an injured animal. He leaned towards the taller boy and tilted his neck to see the wound, the black haired boy still frozen in place.

"That does not look too pretty. I will protect you better next time. Not a hair on your head will be out of place, you have my word." As he spoke, he brushed Hyungwon's hair away from his face and the black haired boy felt pathetic for not being able to speak up, still too traumatized from the attack. He tried his best to focus but his breathing just wouldn't go back to normal and soon, his visions started going black around the corners, until everything faded into black completely.

-

"Hyungwon! Oh my God, Hyungwon. What happened? Hey, Wake up!" Minhyuk shouted at his best friend, crouching in front of him with the most heartbroken expression Hyungwon has ever seen him wear.

The taller boy stirred, opening his eyes slowly before they focused on the male in front of him.  
"Minnie?" his own voice sounded foreign to his ears. It was raspy and quiet, unlike the way it usually sounded.

"Yes! I've got you, don't be scared. Let's get you home."

He could still feel it. The eyes were still on him and he started panicking again. "He's still here, he's here, Min. I can feel it, he's here. "He mumbled, his speech not entirely coherent quite yet.

The older boy only frowned, looking around in confusion. "What, who? nobody's here, cupcake. Let's get you home." Hyungwon wanted to complain, but he didn't have enough strength to. So he just gave up and let the older boy coddle him close as he supported the younger's weight all the way to his car. Once inside, it all came crashing down on him, and he started hyperventilating, tears filling his eyes and spilling over before his whole frame started shaking with tiny sobs.

"Oh no. What should i do with you? I'm sorry sweetheart, i shouldn't have left you alone." The elder whispered softly as he hugged the other boy close, one hand stroking his hair while the other gently patted his back. Minhyuk's heart clenched and an overwhelming sense of guilt was squeezing his insides, making it harder for him to breathe as well.

Hyungwon pulled away from the embrace after a few minutes, no longer crying but he still seemed to be out of it. Minhyuk couldn't read his face at all, which was never the case. He gulped, cringing at the metalic taste in his mouth. "Why...... do I taste blood?" He finally spoke up, but to the elder the words weren't making much sense so he only furrowed his brows in confusion.

"Blood? Were you hurt? What exactly happened, sweetie? Tell me everything."

"I was walking home and the almost the whole way here, i could feel that somebody was watching me. But... i brushed it off. Then once i got to the park, i was attacked." He swallowed thickly, voice deeper than usual as he sniffed, tears threatening to fill his eyes again but he willed them away.

"Attacked? By who?"

"A vampire. I think... his name was Shen Min and... he bit me, Minhyuk." He went to touch his neck right at the spot where he was bitten but froze when his hand only touched smooth skin. Did he... imagine it all? No, that couldn't be right. He had felt the blood being drained from his veins. It was real, all too real.

"The bite.... it healed..." He looked flabbergasted, to say the least. Eyes wide and glossy, a little red from crying and mouth wide open in shock.

 

"Jesus Christ. So, a vampire bit you? Are you sure?" Minhyuk's voice was gentle as always, as if he were cooing at an injured animal.

"Yeah, of course i'm sure. And he would've killed me had it not been for...."

"For who? There was someone else?"

"Yeah, but... I don't know who. He never told me his name...... he saved my life, Minhyuk. While i was being bitten he tore the guy's heart straight out of his chest. I literally watched his corpse drop dead to the ground. So much blood.." He took deep breaths in between his sentences, taking his time and the elder boy winced as Hyungwon went into detail."Holy shit, graphic. Spare me, snickerdoodles."

"Oh i'm sorry, do you want a censored version of how I almost got killed?" The younger boy snapped, regret filling him immediately as the elder's expression fell and the usual playfulness in his eyes got replaced by what could only be described as immense guilt.

"I didn't mean it like that, Wonnie. I'm sorry, i shouldn't have left you alone. This is all my fault." Hyungwon panicked as Minhyuk's eyes filled with tears and he wrapped his long arms around his best friend quickly. "No. It's not your fault at all. Let's go.... let's go home."

\-----------------

He faked a smile in front of his parents, greeting them and apologizing for coming back so late. Of course they didn't notice anything unusual. His parents couldn't even read auras, thank God. Minhyuk drove him home and only drove away when he saw the door close behind his friend.

Hyungwon was so, so done. He just wanted to take a three hour bath and fall into a deep sleep. Or a coma, preferably. Mostly, he was disappointed in himself. Why couldn't he just fight back? freezing like that... he was pathetic. Not only was he the weakest member of the coven, but tonight he proved himself to be a coward as well. Good work, Chae Hyungwon.

That was the main reason why he didn't want to tell his parents. He didn't want to be seen as a disappointment. In the old times, while witches were being hunted, witches like him, witches that couldn't contribute to protecting the coven got abandoned, shunned. His family wouldn't shun him, but he had this irrational fear of disappointing people.

So, yeah. Apparently some people want him dead, but he's too afraid to tell his parents due to 'emotional baggage'. Wonderful.

Maybe his worries would melt away if he ate his entire house. Oh yes, comfort seeking binge eating it is. He pulled out a huge bucket of caramel ice cream, took a tablespoon and practically ran upstairs, needing the tranquility of his bedroom. He plopped down onto his mattress and set the food on his bedside table. He searched up some cheesy rom-com and ate his worries away.

How fucking predictable. The movie wasn't original in any way, but it still made Hyungwon jerk a few tears. Now that the tub of ice cream was gone and the movie ended, he opted to go for that much needed bath.

\------------

He bathed, he brushed his teeth, he did his skin care routine. Everything that he did every single day. But still, he felt so out of place, like he should be doing something else. Strangely, he wasn't afraid anymore, nor did he feel the need to just break down and start sobbing. But he pushed those feeling aside and he put on that over-sized t-shirt he took with him to the bathroom.

He opened the door to his bedroom again, but something felt strange. He stopped moving and focused. He felt another person's presence. Someone was in his room, although he couldn't see who with the lights still off.

He slowly reached his hand towards the switch, pressing it quickly. He scanned his bedroom, frowning when he couldn't see anyone. But one thing was out of place for sure. He didn't remember leaving the balcony door open.

"Alright. Whoever you are you better show yourself or i'm going to fucking murder you, so stop fucking around, Kihyun. This got old the first time." He scoffed at the lack of response, speed walking towards his balcony and closing the door shut. But the feeling hadn't disappeared, someone was still in the room. He felt dark energy from the moment he set foot into the room.

"Guys, stop fucking around!" He turned around, wanting to run out the door, somewhere where there were people, preferably. But he couldn't do that. Not when a familiar figure was blocking his exit.

"You......" Too shocked to say anything intelligent, Hyungwon stood still in front of the balcony, watching the silver haired man in front of him.

"I believe we haven't been properly introduced. The circumstances of our first meeting were.... quite messy. I'm Shin Hoseok." The man said calmly, still wearing that same suit from earlier.   
For some reason, Hyungwon didn't fear him.

"I have a feeling you already know who i am, seeing as you are my personal stalker. You're the one who has been watching me for the past few months, aren't you?" Hyungwon breathed out, proud that his voice didn't waver. The man in front of him saved his life, so the taller boy didn't feel threatened in his presence.

Hoseok smiled a crooked smile, walking a few steps towards him.   
"You're correct, I've been watching over you for quite a while now. You know that i'm not here to harm you, don't you?" his voice along with the British accent sounded like melted dark chocolate and Hyungwon decided that he liked it. They all had slight accents, but not as prominent as Hoseok, since their parents spoke with a thick Korean accent.

"i don't even know you. Based on what i saw earlier, you might just tear my heart straight out of my chest any given second. So why should i believe you?" He crossed his arms, raising a perfectly shaped eyebrow at the blonde, who only let out a deep chuckle.

"I might. But you're still alive, that's not something Shen Min can say. Also, I advise you to keep yourself from dying for the next 48 hours, for your own good." ....Huh?

"What?" he couldn't help the snort followed by an eye-roll. "You advise me not to die? Why thank you kind sir i will be sure to follow your advice and will only allow myself to get killed three days from this moment." He mocked the other man's thick accent and way of speech. The sound of the blonde man's laughter caught him by surprise.

"Amusing, but you don't understand, sweetheart. Don't you question why that nasty bite healed so quickly? I'm the one who healed you."

"Really? Because you're definitely not a witch, and i don't recall seeing you play doctor." he scoffed. Trying not to seem affected by the petname.

"Of course you don't remember, you were too busy being unconscious to notice swallowing my blood." That made Hyungwon freeze again. That metallic taste in his mouth!

"What." He deadpanned.

"I believe you're smart enough to put two and two together, little witch." Hoseok smirked.

"Why the fuck would a vampire save me from another vampire? And if you're a vampire then how the fuck are you here, nobody invited you." The black-haired boy felt uncomfortable, it makes sense. Hoseok fed him his blood while he was unconscious, making the bite mark heal fast. Which means that he has vampire blood in his system. Which means that if he dies in the next 48 hours, he's going go into transition.

"Simple. I need to protect you, it is my duty. And i'm disappointed! You don't even remember our first meeting two months ago? Tssk. You're the one who invited me, dummy. Although i did compel you to forget everything afterwards. I take it that your coven is not on vervain?" That stupid smirk never faded away and Hyungwon felt anger filling his body.

"Why should you have to protect me? You compelled me to invite you in and forget everything? Fucking vampires and your mind control. Vervain isn't exactly the easiest thing to stockpile, dickhead" He spat at the blonde male, trying not to appear freaked out by the thought that he had a chunk of his memory erased. Vervain, the herb that protects the one who consumes it from a vampire's compulsion, or mind control, basically.

"Ah, yes. reminds me of the little gifts i have for you. It's in there." Hoseok pointed towards his bed, and Hyungwon only now noticed the black velvety bag sitting on top of it. "The ones in there are for your friends, and the one here," he reached into the pocked of his suit and pulled out a beautiful necklace with a blue gemstone in the middle of the circular, silver looking pendant. " is for you."

The necklace looked incredibly beautiful, was it lapis lazuli? Hyungwon was a sucker for gemstones. "Why are you suddenly offering me jewelry?" he asked.

"It's not regular jewelry. There's vervain inside, if you wear it while a vampire tries to compel you, it won't work. So make sure to wear it everyday, sweetheart." He held our that necklace, offering it for Hyungwon to take.

"Why are you giving this to me? Why do you want to protect me?" Hoseok ignored those questions and walked towards Hyungwon slowly, grabbing the taller boy's hand who flinched slightly at the contact. He spread out the witch's palm and dropped the necklace on it.

"The bag has three rings, give them to your friends when you see them."

"What about our parents?" He couldn't help but ask, staring at the male as he casually walked towards the balcony, opening the door casually.

"About them, their intentions aren't exactly pure. For your own safety, don't tell them anything." before the witch could ask what he meant, he spoke again while walking out to the balcony, looking down at the city underneath with the tiniest smirk. "I believe that's enough excitement for you tonight, sweetheart. We'll see each other soon enough." He jumped down and Hyungwon screamed, running towards where Hoseok stood a few seconds ago.

He looked down at the ground, seeing nobody, as expected. Screw vampires and their superpowers.

"Hyungwon? i heard you scream, are you alright?" came the worried voice of his mother as she sprung the door wide open, Hyungwon only barely having time to hide the necklace behind his back. Fuck, the bag!

"Don't worry, a bird just crashed into my window, it startled me. I'm going to bed, so goodnight. He quickly walked towards her, kissing her forehead quickly and reaching behind her to turn the light off quickly.

His mother let out a displeased noise and turned the light back on, walking towards the balcony while frowning. "Why do you have it opened? It's cold outside!" She closed it with a huff and Hyungwon only smiled at her cheekily. "Goodnight, son. Sleep well." She looked around the room again, eyes set on the bed. She walked towards it curiously, reaching out to grab one of the many pillows that Hyungwon had piled up on top of it. 

 

"Isn't this mine? I told you countless times to stop stealing pillows from around the house." She looked at him disapprovingly and he let out a soft "Sorry.". She walked out of the door and Hyungwon sighed in relief when she left.

He walked towards the bed and pulled out the black, velvety bag from underneath it. Sure, maybe he wasn't the best witch in battle, but he could still do magic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading <3 I'm probably going to cry over every single comment so don't hesitate to state your thoughts <3


	3. Chapter 3

"He what? No fucking way!" Minhyuk screeched in a high pitched voice, disbelief evident on his features as he stared at Hyungwon, mouth wide open. The younger boy rolled his eyes for what seemed like the hundredth time that day and deadpanned. "I'm not lying! Where the fuck would i get this from otherwise? I'm telling you, this Hoseok guy has been following me around and for some reason, he says he needs to protect me." He explained the situation to the red haired man AGAIN, shaking the black bag that was gifted to him yesterday in front of Minhyuk's face.

The red haired boy sighed and let himself fall backwards onto Hyungwon's bed. "So what you're saying is, we're probably going to get into some real shit soon. First, the thing with Jiyong's coven and now you got yourself a guardian Edward Cullen, the good vampire? This is nuts!"

"You're telling me that as if i wasn't aware! Ugh. Like, Why the fuck is there something i need protection from anyways? Why do people want me dead?? Why not one of you guys?! ....Wait, that sounds wrong. Let me rephrase." Hyungwon furrowed his brows and stopped in the middle of his rant, realizing what he unintentionally implied. Minhyuk only chuckled, getting up into a sitting position.

"What i meant is... Why are they even after me? I'm a basic witch, i'm as basic as it gets. But there's Kihyun, the most rare witch race! Breed! Type, whatever. I don't even know what i'm saying anymore. But it's not just Kihyun, there's Changkyun the faerie's pet and you, the green witch doctor Dolittle. It doesn't make sense that they'd go after me." He pouted, letting a deep sigh leave his lips before he plopped down onto his bed next to the elder.

"Calm down my little crystal, we'll figure everything out. They might not be targeting you only, actually. Maybe they're after all of us and you're just the first one they saw. This is just such a mess. We should tell everything to our parents." Minhyuk responded.

"No! Seriously, Minhyuk. Something weird is happening, and there's only one person who can help me find out more. Hoseok said something about being careful with who we trust, we should keep this between us." 

 

"But how do we know that we can trust him? Maybe he's just playing some weird mind games. And by 'between us', i assume you mean my brother and the baby?" Minhyuk asked with a tilt to his head, voice raising in pitch towards the end of his sentence.

"I don't know... but, didn't something sound off? when they were telling us about the... the murders. And of course! We're all one body and soul. We should text them to meet us at the greenhouse."

"Truth be told... something doesn't add up. We'll have to wait for Edward Cullen to show up again, i guess." 

"We seriously need to tell the guys about everything that happened. Text them to meet us at the greenhouse, I'll go get the things ready." Hyungwon told the elder, getting up from his bed, picking up a backpack from the ground next to his closet shoving a bunch of stuff into it, including various crystals, books and candles.

"First of all, do i look like your assistant? Second of all, what are you planning to do once we get to the greenhouse? Is all that really necessary?" He gestured towards Hyungwon who was stuffing more books into his backpack with a lifted eyebrow.

"Don't you worry your pretty little head about that, sweetie. Just text the guys that it's an emergency."

"Ugh. Yes, my lord." Minhyuk gave up and reached for his phone, doing as Hyungwon said.

\-----

The greenhouse was located deep in the forest. The only people who knew about it were the four of them, not even their parents were aware of their favorite hideout. They found it when they were playing around in the woods one day.

It was a huge, old Victorian style greenhouse. They wanted the beautiful structure to be theirs only, their safe place. That's why a few years ago, the four of them had casted a spell. A very powerful spell that cloaked the greenhouse, making it invisible to anyone but them. Only making it invisible to people wouldn't be nearly enough, though. So they found a way to perfect the spell. They created a little magical loop in a two mile radius around the structure. Meaning, people who crossed that distance found themselves walking in circles, never actually getting closer. The four witches being the only ones being able to get through the maze.

They had found the greenhouse in a state of complete abandonment. All of the flowers were dead, having wilted completely. Minhyuk nearly started crying at the sight of it, and he took it upon himself to transform the greenhouse completely. So now, in the middle of it, there's a rustic wooden table with four chairs around it. It was filled to the brim with various kinds of beautiful flowers, courtesy of the red haired witch.

In the far right corner of the greenhouse was a big box, filled with snacks. That's something Changkyun had insisted on. Hyungwon also had a small collection of crystals piled up, lying in the middle of the table, just to make himself feel more at home. When your mother owns a crystal and herb shop, you have crystals basically everywhere. So to Hyungwon, it was always a bit strange to be in a room without a single crystal, It just felt as if something was lacking if he couldn't sense the bright energy of the gemstones.

The others call it an obsession, but Hyungwon doesn't mind. In his opinion, there's just simply never enough crystals. At some point, the greenhouse became their second home, the fact that it was a shared secret only bringing the group closer together.

Hyungwon and Minhyuk were almost there, the taller boy smiling softly at the sight of the robust structure standing proudly not too far away from them. They sped up slightly, wanting to get in as soon as possible.

"Hey, i never asked you how your mom was." Hyungwon broke the silence, glancing at the shorter boy next to him.

"I don't blame you, really. You were too busy almost dying and stuff. She's doing great, it wasn't a hex, just like you said. Just exhaustion and stress paired with low blood sugar. She's resting now, so don't worry." Minhyuk smiled, seemingly relieved by the fact, the taller boy nodding and smiling in return.

"Seems like those fuckers got here sooner." The black haired boy stated, lazily swaying his hand in the direction of the two witches, silhouettes clearly visible through the glass door. So the other two hurried, Hyungwon opening the door with ease.

"Hello, hello. The main act has arrived." Minhyuk called out from behind the taller, gesturing to Hyungwon with jazz hands and an over enthusiastic expression. The boy in question rolled his eyes softly, his annoyed facade betrayed by the smile that he couldn't will away. Hyungwon Greeted Changkyun with a not so graceful hug, leaning down to wrap his arms around the boy who was sitting down and in the middle of making a flower crown, Hyungwon concluded, judging by the many dandelions laying on the table. 

Changkyun giggled, pulling away first and greeting the two boys properly.  
"Hello? I'm here too? Do i not get a hug?" Kihyun said in mock anger,pouting in a very exaggerated way that contrasted with his all black attire before smiling as Hyungwon literally threw himself at the older boy, hugging him almost too tightly for it to be comfortable.

"Hello brother. And how is my little marshmallow sunshine doing?" Minhyuk stoically said in the direction of where Kihyun sat opposite of Changkyun, voice raising towards the end of his sentence as he cooed at the youngest who lifted a perfectly shaped eyebrow at him, smiling slightly.

"I'm fine, Min. But i'm going to throw both of you off of a cliff if you don't tell us why you called an 'emergency meeting'. You had me thinking you died or something..." The caramel haired boy sighed, Hyungwon and Minhyuk both looking at him with apologetic smiles.

"Well.... to be fair... i almost did. Uhm, i was bitten by a vampire." Hyungwon sheepishly replied, hand going behind his head to scratch his neck, staring at the ground, preparing himself for what he knew was about to come.

"WHAT? YOU DID WHAT? Who did what? Why are you only telling us now? What the fuck happened, Hyungwon? Speak, now." Kihyun shouted, calming down after seeing how taken aback Changkyun looked at his outburst, although he had been expecting it.

"Relax, Ki. He's the victim here, he did nothing wrong. It was me who left him all alone when it was getting dark." Minhuyk answered in a small voice, Hyungwon whipping his head around as soon as he spoke the words.

"Okay now that's just untrue. I'm the one who decided to walk alone, You did offer to take me home. So don't blame yourself, green tea." He said in a tender voice, the corner of Minhyuk's mouth raising slightly at the nickname.

"I.... have some explaining to do." He turned towards Changkyun and Kihyun, the two staring at him expectantly.

So he retold his view of the story in great detail, staring at the ground more so than at the boys sitting in front of him. Talking about what happened in the park almost got him choked up, memory of his near-death experience still terrifying him. Changkyun couldn't hold his tears back though, tiny drops of water falling from his eyes as he quietly trembled, not letting out any sounds as his bottom lip quivered.

After lots of hugs and reassuring words, The black haired boy spoke again.  
"The vampire who saved me returned after i got home. He told me that we're all in danger and that he's going to protect me. Before all of you start throwing questions at me, i have no idea why, so shh. He also gave me this," He turned around and reached into his forgotten backpack, taking out the little velvet bag with the rings inside of it.

He reached into it and took the contents out, opening his palm to reveal the 3 beautiful gemstone rings. Changkyun and Kihyun stared on in amazement, feeling the magic oozing from the jewellery. They could feel it, the vervain inside of the gemstones. Since it's such a rare herb, it was the boy's first time feeling its power. 

"Is that what i think it is?" Kihyun whispered, gaze lingering on the rings before his eyes shot up to look at Hyungwon.

The tall boy only nodded in silence, handing each one of his friends the enchanting pieces of jewellery. They all immediately put them on, all three of them gazing at their hands in wonder and Hyungwon had to stifle a giggle.

"But... why would a vampire give these to you? It just... Doesn't make sense. It's voluntarily giving away the power he has over us." Changkyun said and looked at Hyungwon questioningly, raising his eyebrow again.

"I'm not exactly sure, but he did save my life. I believe that he's really protecting me for some reason. He's on our side."

"Our side? This is seriously starting to seem like we're at war." The youngest pointed out, furrowing his eyebrows as he fiddled with his ring nervously.

"We might as well be. That's exactly what we have to take from what happened to Hyungwon last night. We can't just sit around and let our parents do everything while it's our lives that are in danger as well. We have to practice heavier magic, knowing how to make flowers grow faster isn't exactly going to help us in battle." Minhyuk said, gesturing throughout his sentences.

"But they won't ever let us! Even if we beg on our knees. It's useless, we can't do anything." Changkyun's eyebrows were furrowed and he spoke with frustration, the helplessness filling his body suffocating him.

"Look. Based on what happened to Hyungwon, asking for permission and sitting tight isn't an option anymore. We have to take action." Kihyun responded, fully serious and calm.

"You mean that we should go behind their backs?" Changkyun asked.

"I think that at this point, that's exactly what we have to do. Kihyun and i can sneak into dad's library." Minhyuk responded.

"If this backfires, i will bask in the glory of saying that i told you so, but.. i'm all in." Hyungwon whispered, a small smile appearing on his face, excitement barely containable.

"You're all mental. Fuck it, i guess i'm mental too. Let's do this." CHangkyun grinned, the four of them exchanging smug glances, letting silence fall upon them.

******************  
Later that night, Hyungwon was laying on top of his neatly made bed, covers getting wrinkled under the weight of his slim body. As much as he tried, he couldn't put his mind to rest, thoughts going a million miles per hour. Sleep wouldn't take him even after hours of laying in silence, the boy being unable to stop thinking. Every time he closed his eyes, all he saw was blood. It wasn't fear he felt, but rather, curiosity. That itself made him feel strange. Wasn't he supposed to be at least a little bit afraid? After all, he did almost get killed.

But the only thing that occupied his mind has been the mysterious, platinum haired vampire who saved is life. Why did he help him? No matter how much he tried to figure it out, it didn't make sense at all. The man made him feel a sense of curiosity he hasn't felt his whole life. He knew a few things for sure. The vampire has been following him, was protecting him and for sure knew a lot more about the situation than Hyungwon did.

He needed to talk to him again, without the man disappearing after giving the witch vague information, leaving him desperate to know more without any possibility of contacting the man again. But he did have an idea. An idea that might be the dumbest thing he ever came up with, but in his opinion, it was the best shot he had. So in the middle of the night, he got out of bed, smirking a little as he thought about how insane the thing he was about to do really was. Making sure to not make any sound, he walked down the stairs, unlocking the door as silently as he could and slipped out of the door unnoticed.

He arrived at his destination, a few block down the street. There was an old, abandoned warehouse that has been out of use since Hyungwon started high school. If only Minhyuk and the guys knew that he was walking alone in the middle of the night unprotected, they would have his ass served on a silver platter.

You really are a crazy bastard, Chae Hyungwon, he thought as he climbed up the rusty fire escape all the way up to the rooftop of the decaying building.

He looked around, momentarily fascinated by the stars filled sky above his head before he walked towards the edge of the roof, footsteps surprisingly steady and he looked down, survival instinct still not catching up to him even as he stared at the ground, five stories below him.

Fuck, you're really going to do this, aren't you? He grinned at the sheer ridiculousness of the situation. Did looking death in the eyes yesterday make you this unjustifiably fearless? He questioned his sanity. But he couldn't help his boldness, feeling the gaze on him coming from somewhere, although he could not see anyone.

"You know, right now would be a good time to come out out of wherever it is that you are hiding. Or did you save my life only to let me take it by myself?" He shouted the words, only being greeted by silence.

He shook his head and looked around one last time before turning around and shuffling even closer towards the edge.

"Last chance!" He screamed even louder, letting out a shaky breath after being met with silence once again.

"Fair enough." He whispered before taking that one step back and falling, feeling the air caress him gently as his body kept falling at an alarming pace and he shut his eyes, preparing himself for the impact that never came. Actually surprised, he opened his eyes, gaze met with an unimpressed expression of the man he so desired to see.

"Hi" he whispered unintelligibly, visibly effected by their position, the vampire holding him bridal style.

"That was incredibly stupid, i hope you are aware of that." Hoseok said, deep, almost angry voice sending shivers down the younger's spine. He set the younger boy down on the ground, Hyungwon' legs wobbling slightly. Holy shit, he really did that. And it worked, holy fuck.

The platinum haired vampire turning around before Hyungwon panicked and grabbed his shoulders in desperation. "Wait!" he screamed, the older man sighing and turning around once again.

"What? Are you going to try to kill yourself again if i leave?" He lifted his eyebrow in question, staring at him with the same serious, unimpressed look in his eyes.

"Yes." Hyungwon answered with full honesty, blinking back at him.

Hoseok closed his eyes shut in frustration, the corners of Hyungwon's mouth lifting slightly. Cute.

"I need information. You're protecting me, right? I need you to tell me what it is that i need protection from, and telling me why you're being my guardian vampire wouldn't hurt, either." He continued, the elder man sighing again as he opened his eyes.

The elder stared at him for a few seconds before he wordlessly grabbed his arm, Hyungwon briefly furrowing his eyebrows in confusion before he was manhandled by the older man, hauled up in his arms and suddenly, he felt the wind hit his face, even more intense then when he was free falling and when he blinked again, they were on top of the rooftop, the elder setting him down on the ground again before wordlessly walking towards the edge, sitting down and staring at the street below.

Hyungwon was having another internal mental breakdown, trying to make sense of what the fuck just happened. Vampire powers, super speed. He told himself and he shook his head, walking towards the older man and sitting down next to him, swinging his long legs in the air. At this time of night, reality felt a bit altered and Hyungwon looked around, taking in the smell of dust undeniably caused by the building's age, the warehouse only illuminated by a single street lamp on their far right.

"So? Are we just going to sit here or will you say something?" Hyungwon finally said after sitting there for what felt like hours.

"You sure do talk a lot, don't you, darling?" Hoseok responded, not looking in his direction, staring in front of himself instead and Hyungwon tried not to be effected by the petname. 

 

He was about to spit out a sassy remark but the elder got to it first.

"I do not know much more than you do, little witch. My knowledge is limited but i will share what i know with you. The people who murdered that coven were assassins, highly trained ones at that and they seemed to be looking for something of incredible importance, and they seem to have found that something here, in your coven. That's all i know." Hoseok answered in his thick British accent and as he spoke, Hyungwon got a chance to take a good look at him, a chance he took. The vampire was almost sickly pale, and once again, he was clad in an expensive looking blazer, white v-neck underneath revealing a patch of porcelain skin, a chain with a pendant hanging from his neck.

He listened attentively, impressed by how serious and unimpressed the vampire sounded the whole time, feeling confused the more the elder spoke.

"That still doesn't explain why you're out here saving my life instead of trying to take it like the rest of them, though, does it?" He couldn't help but ask, desire to understand prominent.

"That's because for the last three months, you've been the only thing i saw in my dreams." He said and finally turned to look at him and Hyungwon was so taken aback that the only thing he could do was gape stupidly. Luckily, Hoseok continued talking.

"Before i ever met you, i started seeing glimpses of you in my dreams, haunted by the images of you dying and the only thing i could feel was the desire to save you, failing each time. I do not know why, but i know that i need to protect you, so i found you." His gaze was so intense and genuine that Hyungwon felt something inside of him crumbling, undetectable emotions stirring at the vampire's words.

"I., i've been having the same dream of me dying for ages now." Was the only thing he could say, voice breathy and soft.

"I believe that it is you who they are after, little witch." Hoseok whispered back in response and Hyungwon felt like choking, overwhelmed and tired. He felt something pulling him towards the elder man and he felt the need to get closer. He was breathless, everything feeling way too intense and the only thing he could feel was the gentle night breeze caressing his skin, staring in fascination at the way Hoseok's platinum blonde hair got slightly ruffled.

Instead of acting out on the urge to put the stray pieces of hair back in place, he spoke instead.  
"Just who are you, Hoseok?" He couldn't help but question his thoughts out loud, voice catching in his throat when the vampire smiled in response.

Hoseok stood up suddenly, reaching out his hand for Hyungwon to take. "Someone you can trust." Hyungwon grabbed the hand and was immediately pulled up, distance between them way smaller then neither of them was expecting and the witch instantly took a step back, clearing his throat.

"I do trust you. I don't know why, but i do." He answered.

"The thing you did, never do that again." the anger suddenly returned to the vampire's eyes and he took a step closer to Hyungwon and the witch couldn't help feeling intimidated at the way Hoseok stared him down, an undeniable aura of pure dominance radiating from his entire being.  
"If you feel the need to talk to me, come here tomorrow, same time." 

"Okay, I'm sorry. But to be fair, it was kind of you who made me do it." Hyungwon said in his defense, never being the one to back down easily.

Hoseok just smirked at him, caressing his cheek suddenly and Hyungwon's eyes widened stupidly as he gaped at the man in front of him. Then the soft touch hardened and Hoseok roughly tilted his head to the side, leaning in close and whispering in his ear. "Be a doll and stop talking back to me, i could snap your arm in half without blinking twice. I will do anything to keep you from dying so for your own comfort, keep yourself out of trouble, beautiful." The younger shivered, not in fear but something else he did not understand. He felt the urge to bow down in surrender, although he knew deep down that the elder wouldn't actually hurt him and was only saying that out of the need to intimidate him into obedience.

Hyungwon pushed the vampire away, huffing in annoyance and doing his best to calm down his racing heart. He always needed to have the last word and he didn't want to admit to the vampire how effected by his dominance he was.

"Messorum evoco qui me tetigit. O theristis, kaleo se kai deo. " He chanted, praying for the love of God that he actually got the spell right, smirking in triumph when a line of fire erupted from seemingly nowhere, separating him and the vampire, flames burning bright and high."Unfortunately, doll, i don't take orders." Yeah, totally worth that expression, Hoseok looked impressed, stepping back as to not get burned by the fire. "You're walking on very thin ice, little witch." the platinum haired man said with a small smile.

"What can i say, I've always liked to play with fire. See you tomorrow, fang boy." Hyungwon turned around and walked away, basking in the feeling of eyes on his back.

Fuck, that was intense. Holy fuck, what. When he returned home at three AM, he felt the exhaustion hit him like a brick wall and he fell asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this took so long! My charger broke so I had problems writing. Hah, lucky me. I hope you liked this chapter! it's a bit shorter but i just wanted to update quickly. You can look forward to more frequent updates from now on.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi again! Let me know what you think in the comments! If you spot any mistake, please let me know, and i will correct it. Thank you for reading, see you soon!  
> DM me on instagram if you have any questions or just want to chat!   
> @rosegoldwonnie


End file.
